Naruto: Blade of Eternal Damnation
by Isamashii Akegata
Summary: After the catastrophe of the Chunin Exams, the Ninja's Council, with Iruka filling in for the Hokage, sends Sasuke and Naruto to FumoBaru Village, the village of mist, to recover an ancient dagger known as the Blade of Eternal Damnation.
1. Chapter 1: A New Adventure

**Naruto: Blade of the Eternal Damnation**

background, this takes place after the Chunin Exams, after Naruto fights and wins in a battle with Gaara, and the funeral for the Hokage, Naruto and Sasuke are put under rigorous training excersises under Kakashi while the ninjas of Komoharu Village try and talk Jiraiya into becoming the new Hokage.

(Style note: This may feel like it moves very fast, but the style of this writing is to build more on action, and leave the building of the scene up to the imagination, if asked, you may find that many people build the same image in their head, as this style is to prove that the emotion and the scenery of the scene can be built entirely out of the action, this Fanfiction, once it enters the action, is supposed to move at a fast pace, so don't think that it is rushed, as a lot of thought and editing went into it. You will find that the majority of the speed that the story develops comes from the emotion of the individual themes, and that some parts may actually seem longer, as the action lessens to develop itself later in the story. Also, you will find that I "as a narrator" Will give you very little explanation, like in the series, all the information that you need to know will be given to you in dialog, this has to do with the style more than it has to do with trying to capture the feel of the anime itself, as dialog is considered a part of action. In fact, you may find that dialog takes up around 85-90 of the story, this is intentional. Now that this is out of the way . . . the basic concept of this particular Fanfiction was at the request of my girlfriend, so . . . Enjoy. )

"Hmm . . . Try again Naruto, the Shadow Dagger Fall is a low level move. It shouldn't take you so many tries." Kakashi put a hand to his face in embarrassment for his student.

Naruto threw his Shirukin into the air again, this time when it fell, three copies hit the ground.

Sasuke threw his into the air, a barrage of at least fifty daggers pummeled the ground around Naruto, who was too busy dodging them to worry about the location of Sakura, who was standing off to one side, until her plowed her into the ground. "I'm sorry Sakura . . . I swear that idiot is trying to kill me . . . I . . . " He stopped as he realized that his face was smack in the middle of Sakura's chest, and his face turned bright red "Sakura's . . . chest . . ." was all he was able to murmur before sakura planted a fist between his eyes.

Sakura stood ready to strike another blow. "How DARE you Naruto! Why can't you be more polite, like Sasuke?" she swung her fist but Souke caught it. She blinked in astonishment. "Sasuke?"

He didn't even look at her, his eyes staring over Naruto to three figures in the distance. "Don't, Sakura, its not necessary." He looked at her and then at Naruto, "Besides, he isn't worth the effort."

"Damn you, Sasuke! How dare you try to make yourself seem better than me!" Naruto stood up and faced off against Sasuke. "Why do you think you are so much better than everyone else?"

Sasuke uttered a "huu" and turned his head away from Naruto. This only angered Naruto more.

As Naruto opened his mouth to speak again, Kakashi cut in, "It would appear that we have guests"

Neji was standing directly behind Kakashi, and Kakashi was standing directly behind Neji. "Don't you know its impolite to sneak up on people, Neji?" Kakashi said as he turned around to look at himself.

Neji looked unsurprised. "I still don't understand why the Hokage put me with the likes of Gai instead of under the tutelage of the great Clone Ninja Kakashi."

Kakashi tapped Neji on the shoulder, and this time he did start as Kakashi was no longer in front of him, and only the Kakashi behind him remained. "Never doubt the Hokage's decisions, he knew what he was doing, even if we did not." He stretched and pulled out his favorite manga, "Ichi Ichi paradise" "So? What is it you came here for?"

Neji waved his hand as if the reason he was there didn't really matter. "Gai has been so worried over Lee that he has neglected the training of the rest of the team. Its such a bother having such a one track minded sensei."

Kakashi looked over the edge of his book for a second before continuing to the next page. "Well, I suppose I could talk to Gai, maybe i could help until this whole mess blows by. What a bother."

Naruto stared at Kakashi "But what about my training?"

Kakashi scratched his head for a moment before responding, "I'll think of something."

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Naruto was dragging a sack behind him as he walked to his house. Mumbling to himself about "Selfish Sasuke" and "lazy Kakashi." He set the sack down in front of his door and kicked it a few times before taking it inside. He emptied the contents of the bag on the floor of hi house, revealing a training dummy with the appearance of Sasuke.

He took a few minutes to set it up in one of his rooms before giving it a good kick to the face. He gave a smug grin and pointed to himself. "I look forward to the day I can teach you that I am the next Hokage."

continued on.-------------------------

The next morning, Sasuke and Naruto were waiting near the entrance to the ninja School, where Kakashi had told them to wait for him. Naruto stared holes in Sasuke, who merely napped lightly in the spring breeze, until Konohamaru showed up and started pestering Naruto.

"Hey big brother! Why are you hanging around here? You were just in the Chunin exams, so I know you aren't to go back to school!"

Naruto waved his hand in the direction of Konohamaru. "Not now Konohamaru! I'm doing important ninja things."

Kakashi casually walked up beside him and leaned down to Naruto's eye level. "Ninjas don't stand around in the open." Naruto Started at Kakashi's sudden appearance.

"AH! Sensei! You shouldn't scare me like that . . . . I mean, Konohamaru like that."

Konohamaru blinked at Naruto, "Big Brother is worried about me?" He rubbed the back of his head "I appreciate it . . but I wasn't startled at all."

Kakashi turned to Konohamaru. "How are you, Konohamaru?"

Konohamaru became silent for a few seconds before turning away. "I'm not doing bad at all, My Grandfather was strong . . . and so am I!" A tear fell to the ground before he ran off to his classes.

"Konohamaru," Naruto whispered to himself.

Kakashi turned back to Naruto and Sasuke. "Well . . . ," he reached up and scratched his head, "Sorry I'm late. It would appear that Gai likes to take long walks around the village. I'm just glad he didn't challenge me to any of those silly games of his."

Sasuke looked around and noticed for the first time that Sakura wasn't with them. "Why is Sakura not here?"

Kakashi pointed back the way he came with his thumb. "Oh, that, yes well. I have a separate task for her. She will be staying here and helping with the training of Neji and Tenten."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi with a look of surprise across his face. "What? Why would you put some one as weak as Sakura in charge of training someone as powerful as Neji?"

"Be quiet Sasuke! Sakura may not have much Chakra, but she is smarter than both of us!" Naruto shouted angrily.

Kakashi laughed. "Naruto seems to have hit the nail on the head." He plopped his hand on Naruto's head. "That is precisely the reason that I am keeping Sakura here. Neji has power, but after losing to Naruto in the Chunin Exams, he is starting to learn that it isn't enough."

He looked at Naruto and Sasuke before looking at the sky. "As for you, I have something different in mind."

Naruto looked to Kakashi, "A . . . Task?"

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"WHAT!"

"Naruto, you shouldn't be so loud." Kakashi, was waving his hand at Naruto to quiet down, they were walking toward the Ninja Center to pick up their assignment from the village assignment center.

"But I don't understand Sensei! Why are you sending me to another village with Sasuke? Why aren't you training us?"

"Because, you need experience, and . . .I had actually planned to take you guys out on assignment anyway, but things are such a bother."

Naruto made a face and crossed his arms. "I get it, you're just lazy."

Kakashi sighed, "Naruto . . . . " He then turned to look at Sasuke. "Is something wrong, Sasuke? You've been even more quiet than usual."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi with a completely blank expression. "What is there to say?"

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. "Well . . .I guess I can't argue with that." He looked at the building in front of him. "Ah . . . Here we are."

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They stood in front of the Ninja Council while the council went through a list of possible assignments for C rank ninjas, and finally Instructor Iruka (who was filling The Hokage's seat until the fifth Hokage is named) stood up and held out his hand with an envelop labeled "Property of Fumo Be-ru Village." As Kakashi took the envelop he nodded to Iruka. "This is the assignment that we have decided on," Iruka said.

Kakashi started to open the envelop. "Artifact recovery?"

"Yes, Fumo Be-ru Village has asked that we recover a sacred artifact for their village." Iruka pointed at the Envelop that he had handed Kakashi. "We know very little about the artifact itself, but we do know that it was a dagger used in ritual sacrifices over 200 years ago. All the necessary maps and observations are enclosed in the document you have Kakashi."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and then back at Kakashi. "Ritual Sacrifices? I have a bad feeling."

Naruto crossed his arms and glared at Iruka. "We have to recover a rusty old dagger? What kind of mission is that for a ninja? That's something one of those old people who dig stuff up is supposed to do."

Kakashi looked at Naruto and sighed "You mean an archeologist, don't you?"

Naruto gave Kakashi a confused look. "What's an Are-keo-log-ist?"

Kakashi looked back at the envelope, "Never mind."

Iruka looked to Sasuke and Naruto. "The reason why the local museum there hasn't begun its on excavations on the site that it is believed to rest is because it is guarded by evil spirits. Or so the village believes."

Sasuke looked at Iruka, "Evil spirits? You mean like ghosts?"

Iruka shook his head. "No, according to our reports, they are more like people possessed by Oni."

Naruto looked confused again. "Oni?"

Kakashi laughed, "Naruto, you really are behind the rest of us in your studies aren't you. Oni are a kind of demon, they are very powerful, and are usually the ones to guard unholy places, although they also exist to desecrate the living . . . . " he turned to Iruka. "But the thing that bothers me is, they don't usually use the powers of possession unless they are bound, but that means that someone had wanted them to possess him."

Iruka shrugged, "Like I said, we got very little information about the mission itself, I almost had it classified as an A rank mission, but due to the lack of evidence that it will be a very dangerous mission it was classified as C."

Kakashi, "Usually, Oni automatically get classified as B, why so low?"

"One of the reports in here said that one of the Oni was hurt with a regular carving knife, this has lead our staff to believe that they might just be ninjas guarding the dagger, pretending to be Oni to scare off the villagers."

Kakashi scratched his head with one finger, "Ah, I see. How interesting." He turned to face Naruto and Sasuke. "Lets see. You two will need to focus on exploration, you need to take care about these 'Oni,' only engage them if absolutely necessary. since we are certainly not sure about them, it would be best to play it safe."

"But why are we not going as a group, I think that Sakura would be very useful on a mission like this." Naruto started waving his hands in the air, and generally making a fool of himself.

"Naruto!" Kakashi scolded, "I need her to stay here, on top of that, if the Oni turnout to be real, she would only get in the way of you and Sasuke, while she is very intelligent, what this mission needs is a strong arm, not mind, anything that you and Sasuke come up against, you two should be more than capable of handling, but, just in case . . . " he pulled something out of his jacket and handed it to Sasuke, "Here, take this."

Sasuke looked at the scroll in his hands. "What is it?" he unrolled it to see a single large Kanji etched across its surface.

"Its a messenger Kanji, place a small amount of blood on the scroll and speak the words 'Record,' 'fly,' and 'relay' and it will automatically return to me with your situation. That way if anything happens, I will be able to come and help." Kakashi waved his hand at Naruto and Sasuke, "Now its time to get ready."

Iruka sat back down in his seat. "We have already arranged a room for you. Go to the Green Flower inn, it is a little less . . . um . . .reputable, but it is low key, and shouldn't attract to much attention. The keyphrase is 'I've come as the gardener, is the worker's room ready?' . . . of course, you will be participating in some gardening, but nothing to major, just water a few plants, and trim a few shrubs everyday, and nobody should suspect anything."

Naruto put his hands behind his head in a relaxed pose. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all."

Sasuke gave him an odd look and walked towards the door.

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	2. Chapter 2: A Long Walk

Naruto let out a loud moan. "It would have been nice if they could at least have arranged for some form of transportation for us." They had now been walking along the dirt road for almost 4 hours now. The long dirt trail was mostly straight with very few scenic changes since they left the village, but even the easiness of the trail was losing its convenience as the hottest part of the day brought no clouds, and even the shade of the trees were hidden off to the sides of the path.

Sasuke sighed. "Naruto, anything other than us walking into town would attract too much attention, walking is the only way to get there, or hitchhiking."

Naruto pulled his eyelid at Sasuke "There has to be people to hitchhike, Sasuke."

"Exactly, which is why we are walking."

"Huh?" Naruto let go of his eye and stared at Sasuke. "Wait a minute . . . you mean? We knew that there would be no people on this road?"

"Of course, Naruto, You think that we need the kind of attention that would come from hitchhiking?"

"No, I guess not."

"There it is." Sasuke pointed at the large stone building in the valley ahead. "That's the entry point for the next country, that means that we are about 5 hours from the village. We should get there around sunset."

"Sasuke, I sense something."

Sasuke looked around the nearby trees, "I sense it too."

"There!" Naruto chucked a shiruken into a nearby tree.

"Naruto! What are . . . ?" Sasuke was interrupted by a sudden rustling in the tree, followed by a small body hitting the ground by the trunk. The small person slowly started to prop itself up with its hands.

"Ow," The person looked at Naruto to reveal the face of a small boy. "Why did you have to do that?"

Naruto got up in the small boy's face. "Why were you spying on us? Are you an Oni?"

The boy look at Naruto with a shocked expression. "How could I be an Oni? I'm just a kid?"

Naruto stepped back a step and pointed to himself. "Don't lie to me kid, I can see right through your charades."

Sasuke put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Relax Naruto, he is just a small boy." He turned to the kid and kneeled down on one knee. "What's your name?"

The kid stood up and brushed himself off before bowing to Sasuke. "My name is Jaki. I am pleased to meet you. And you, you must be Sasuke Uchiha." A stunned expression crossed Sasuke's face, and he stepped back to stare at the kid. Jaki seemed to look at Sasuke in a funny way. "Did I say something wrong?"

Naruto bent down to look the shorter Jaki in the eye. "Just how do you know who he is?"

Jaki gave a cheerful smile. "Oh . . . that? My father used to trade with the Uchiha, he told me that all of the Uchiha . . . "

Sasuke glared angrily at Jaki. "Enough, don't talk about it."

Jaki shrugged, "Sorry, I guess I hit a nerve. Well, I guess you guys are heading to Fumo Be-ru, so I suppose I'll see you in town. See you later!" he turned and ran back into the woods and disappeared.

Naruto scratched his head. "What a weirdo."

Sasuke, without so much as a sound, turned and walked down the path, deep in reflection.

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There was a burly man at the check point with a bandage wrapped over his left eye, he had a tag on his shirt that labeled him as "Checkpoint Security," When Sasuke and Naruto approached him a smile crossed his face. "Ah, hello children. You must be the Ninjas from Konoha Village, My name is Bifuteki. I was asked to guide you to Fumo Be-ru village."

"How did . . . oh . . .the head bands." Sasuke reached up and tapped his headband. "Nothing we can really do about those . . . unless we can cover them up . . ."

Naruto looked at the large man. "Hey Beefsteak, Does this mean that everyone in the village will know who we are?"

Bifuteki put his hand on Naruto's head and let out a loud laugh, "I like you kid, you're very blunt, but no. Most people aren't familiar with the Konoha leaf emblem, you should be fine."

Sasuke dropped his hand from his head. "That's a bit of a relief, that is one less thing to worry about."

Bifuteki put a hand to his mouth, "That reminds me, you didn't run into any Oni out there?"

Sasuke Shook his head, but Naruto answered, "No Large man, there was no one along the way, and my feet are killing me, are there no rides we could hitchhike onto at all around here?"

Bifuteki laughed again, and again dropped his hand on Naruto's head, cause Naruto to make a dour face and attempt the lift the hand off his head . . .but found that even its dead weight was heavy. "Don't worry Blondie, I'll drive you into town."

Naruto snapped his fingers. "That reminds me, we did run into a kid who called himself Jaki."

"I know that little rascal . . . he is an orphan who lives in the village, he lives in the Green Flower Inn . . . the girls there took him in when he was a little boy." Bifuteki rubbed his head with his hand. "He likes to play pranks, that one, stealing peoples clothes out of the bath house . . . nothing serious mind you . . .but he can still cause the ruckus . . .and the occasional free peep-show." His roaring laugh caused all the people passing through the gate to stare in his direction.

Sasuke put a hand against his head and looked around, glad that the people were too focused on the large man laughing to notice who it was he was talking to. Bifuteki stood straight up and waved his hand. "Sorry, anyway, come on, lets go. Time's a wasting."

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It was already dark when they arrived in town, a slight layer of haze appeared to be creeping in over the town, blocking the early evening stars from view, the only light penetrating the layer was that of the crescent moon. Bifuteki pulled his car in front of the Green Flower Inn. "Well, here we are."

Sasuke hopped out and looked around. "There are no street lamps."

Bifuteki tossed Sasuke his bag. "There's no need, look around, the light haze disperses the light from the moon, and windows from the surrounding houses." He was right, the street was well lit, despite the lack of any real light source.

As Sasuke contemplated this, Naruto was busy admiring the view."How can you count on something as unpredictable as the weather?" He noticed that a few of the Green Flower's women had moved outside to meet the newcomers.

Bifuteki gave Sasuke a playful look. "You'll find out come morning."

Naruto started to wander inside before Sasuke caught him by the shoulder. "Just a second." He then walked up to the nearest woman. "We are here as the gardeners."

The woman leaned over and pinched his cheeks. "Well aren't you two just the cutest little ninjas" she gave him a big smile. Sasuke broke free of the pinching and waved goodbye to Bifuteki.

Bifuteki waved back. "I'll stop by tomorrow in case you need something . . . enjoy the conveniences there, its all on your contractor."

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	3. Chapter 3: Hints of Danger

Naruto reclined in the Hot Spring and exhaled a long exhausted breath. "What a long day, my feet feel like I dropped a rock on them . . . " he leaned back against a rock. "Man . . . that ramen was pretty good."

Naruto opened his eyes to find Sasuke sitting not two feet away. He almost jumped out and pointed at Sasuke. "You shouldn't sneak up on people!"

Sasuke didn't even lift his head. "Sorry," Was the only reply he got. Sasuke was resting his arms on the edge of the pool.

Naruto edged closer and put his hand on Sasuke's arm. "Hey, are you ok? You've been acting weird ever since we meet that kid . . . what was his name? Jaki?"

Sasuke moved his arm away, "Shut up, I don't want to talk about it." The movement of his body caused the water around him to churn, it reflected the light, and what looked like a pair of eyes. Naruto turned to look, but saw nothing, and looked again, but saw nothing but Sasuke's legs through the water. He reached out and slapped Sasuke on the head with such a force that it drove his face into the water. Sasuke came back up spitting water. He stood and faced Naruto, sending water spraying the rocks around him. "What did you do that for Naruto!"

Naruto waved his fist in front of Sasuke's face. "What do you think it was for, stupid? Here I am, worried, and you have to act like a damn jerk!"

Sasuke's expression betrayed his shock. "You . . . were worried about me?"

Naruto crossed his arms over the seal on his stomach and turned away. "Of course I am. You may be my rival, but you are still my friend and partner."

Sasuke stood in silence for a moment before sitting back down. A long time passed before Naruto sat back in the water. Sasuke looked over at Naruto, the light reflecting off his body gave Naruto a feminine look. He reached out to put his hand on Naruto's shoulders, but then, for a brief moment stopped, and put his arm back in the water, as a look of a sad memory crossed his eyes. He turn his head. "Naruto . . . "

Naruto gave half a glance over his shoulder. "What is it you want?" His voice was low and dispassionate.

"I . . . never thanked you . . . for saving Sakura and me. Gaara would have torn us apart if it wasn't for you."

Naruto gave a shocked expression and turned around to face Sasuke. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke was nowhere in sight.

Naruto Stared at the spot that Sasuke had been sitting for a few moments. "Sasuke . . . . "

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Naruto stood in front of a large stone door. On the door were intricate carvings, ruins of a long forgotten jitsu, by comparison, they weren't so much different from those which held Kyu inside his belly. He ran his fingers over the seal, watching as his touch filled the lines with Chakra, and began to glow the color of blood. As he reached the center of the markings, he heard screams coming from behind the door. He suddenly recoiled his hand . . . the screams were familiar to him. He reached out again and pushed the door inward as the screams continued. A pale light, blinding in his darkened room, but resembling that off of a harvest moon filled the room. When his vision cleared, he dropped to his knees in shock, doubling over as if he had been punched in the gut. After a second of fighting with his bowels, he vomited at his knees, trying his best not to do so on his own clothing. He shakily wiped his mouth and stood, looking again with horror on the scene which lay in front of him.

Sasuke was pinned to a tree in a room of pure white, daggers deep in each of his arms. He was steadily pinned. The daggers had been inserted with such force that there was no distance between the tree and Sasuke's arms. Blood was dripping from his mouth as he labored for breath in a slow, unsteady pace, his breath coming out in ragged puffs of air in the cold room. In his stomach was buried a intricately decorated spear, with deep lines in the surface of the shaft, through which Sasuke's blood was running like rain water through irrigation canals. The pointed end was sticking through the back of the tree, clean of any gore, shinning like a freshly polished Diamond. The only stains of blood were on Sasuke's clothing and skin, and matting his hair to his face in a mess of hair, sweat, and ochre. Blood was running down his legs and puddleing under his feet on his sandals, which ran over the sides like an over full cup. No blood was on the tree, or to be found anywhere else in the room, save the puddle directly under his feet, which mingled with that running off of the shaft of the spear, slowly filling lines dug into the hard white floor.

Naruto unsteadily crossed the room, still shaken by the shock that grated his body. He collapsed to his knees on the floor directly in front of Sasuke's limp form, causing the puddle of blood to spread away from him, soaking his pants in the damp, still-warm fluid. As tears started to form in his eyes he buried his face in Sasuke's legs, coving his headband in Sasuke's life's blood. "Sasuke . . . . " he wailed, "How could this have happened?" He shook Sasuke's leg. "Sasuke? What happened? Who did this to you?"

Sasuke breathed out a raspy breath, and then inhaled deeply and relatively stead. "Na . . . ru . . . to . . . " Was all that his ragged voice would carry to Naruto's ears. He coughed once, spraying Naruto's face with his blood, and then breathed no more.

Naruto stood in stunned silence. He slowly lowered his head as tears began to stream down his face."Sasuke . . . . Sasuke? . . . . . Sasuke!", his deep and primal yell echoed on the while walls surrounding him. He made a deep shuddering growl as he felt Kyu's presence well up in him, the dark demon fox's Chakra building, asking for release. His Canines extended, he felt his face and its slight changes as he had in his first true battle. Then . . . unable to control his instincts, he tore a deep bite into Sasuke's leg.

-----------------------

Naruto awoke with a start, the coppery taste of Sasuke's blood still in his mouth. He looked over to Sasuke, sleeping in the bed next to his. He put his hand on the side of his face, and felt a sticky warmth there.

His nose was bleeding, leaving a long trail down from the edge of his mouth to his pillow. "Nuts . . . " Naruto stood and walked to the wash bin in the side of the room. As he clean himself up, there was a low rustle on the other side of the room. He turned to find Sasuke sitting up in bed.

Sasuke eyed the blood on Naruto's hands. "Are you ok?"

Naruto waved his free hand at Sasuke while holding the towel to his face with the other. "I'm fine, its just a bloody nose." He looked at Sasuke, and the dream came rushing back. He gasped, and the coughed blood into the towel.

Sasuke was up and standing next to him before he finished. He was looking at the blood coughed into the towel. "Are you sure?"

Naruto scratched his head with his free hand. "Yeah . . . I got some in my mouth while I slept. I'm fine, I swear."

Sasuke crossed the room and lay on top of his bed. "Nightmare?"

Naruto looked at him with a look of surprise. "Uhh . . . yeah . . . how did . . . . ?" his voice trailed off . . . leaving a dead silence as Sasuke turned his head before answering.

"Me, too."


	4. Chapter 4: Lil' Jaki

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Sasuke wandered out the door to find Naruto humming to himself while watering the flowers. Shocked at how Naruto was taking pleasure in the odd work he stood a moment and watched the full absorbed Naruto before picking up a watering can and joining him. Water sloshed out of the can as Sasuke tried in vain to put more water into the plants than on his shirt. A look of concentration on his face, it took him a few moments to register Naruto's mocking laughter.

"What's so funny, Naruto?" Sasuke tossed the half empty can aside, splaying water across the brick walkway, and his pants.

This only succeeded in make Naruto laugh more, until he was rolling on the floor. Sasuke turned his head in annoyance. Naruto was finally able to control himself when he spoke. "Haven't you ever watered plants before?"

Sasuke's face twitched a little. "No, I haven't."

This time Naruto's amusement was replaced by surprise. "Really'?"

Sasuke looked away. "Its not like I ever had the need, or want to care for plants, Naruto. Or anything else."

Naruto picked up the Watering can and took it over to the pond, and refilled it with water. When he stood back up, he turned around. "I'll teach you then." There was more of a look of pity on his face than of cheer.

Sasuke looked away angrily. "I don't need your help Naruto."

There was a brief moment of silence before anyway spoke. "If you don't learn, then who is going to pretend to be a Gardener, hmm?"

Sasuke choked on words. "Gah?"

Naruto shoved the can toward Sasuke. "Here . . . " Sasuke tentatively took the can as Naruto stood behind him and guided his arms. "Its really easy, you just tilt it a little, you don't have to dump the whole thing out at once, not everything is solved by force Sasuke. You have to be gentle with plants."

As the last of the water was emptied from the tin, Sasuke turned to face Naruto as his arms were released. "How do you know so much about plants?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Its kind of a hobby . . . "

"And I thought you two were cool."

Both Sasuke and Naruto turned to face the voice. Jaki jumped down off of the wall and landed in a patch of flowers. Naruto waved his fist around angrily, "Get off of those you! Your crushing our flowers!"

Jaki looked at his feet, "Oops." he leaped onto the brick path and smiled widely, obviously attempting to seem disarming. "Sorry about that . . . "

Naruto waved his fist around at Jaki. "What are you doing here anyway? And how did you know how to find us?"

"Umm . . . maybe because . . . . I live here?" Jaki stuck his tongue out an Naruto.

Naruto replied by sticking his tongue out too. Sasuke gave a look of despair and moved his hand over Naruto's mouth. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't retract his tongue in time and ended up licking Sasuke's hand. Naruto Started spitting as Sasuke wiped his hand on his pants with a look of disgust. "Look, you must know your way around town pretty good, maybe you would be willing to act as our guide."

Jaki held up his finger. "Under _one_ condition."

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Jaki strolled out into the street, wearing Naruto's jacket. Behind him were Naruto and Sasuke, Naruto looking more than a little unhappy. He crossed his arms and looked off to the side as he entered into the sunlight, or thought he was. Sasuke stopped in his tracks as he entered the open air. The entire village was covered in a dense

fog, denser than it had been the previous night. As they followed Jaki through the mist, pointing out various shops and food marts, Sasuke and Naruto remained more impressed at the town itself, which had seemingly been built with the fog in mind. No building was farther than five feet from the last, insuring that you could find anyplace without getting lost.

"So, how long have you lived here, Jaki?" Naruto was still admiring the scenery, or rather, the lack of, as he started a conversation.

"I've lived here as long as I can remember, before my dad died, he told me that I was born in another village. I tried to get him to tell me about it, but he never said anything more."

"How did he die?"

"My brother killed him."

Sasuke's attention focused on the conversation immediately. "When did it happen?"

"A few years ago."

Sasuke's attention was now focused on the boy as he asked question after question. As the mist around them started to take a pale red color, Jaki led them back to the Green Flower Inn.

Bifuteki was waiting outside. "So . . .what do you think of our little town?"

Naruto nodded to him. "Its amazing . . . I've never seen anything like it."

Sasuke nodded once. "Every building uses the fog to its advantage in some way or another."

Bifuteki puffed his chest out in pride.

"Yep, this town proves that man and Nature can help each other exist in ways never thought possible"

Jaki rolled his eyes and started to walk inside. "Right, old man . . . . that's pushing the envelope a bit though . . . "

Naruto and Sasuke said there good byes to Bifuteki, and started to head inside, when Sasuke remembered something and turned back around. "Hey, Big man, I need a map of The area. something tells me that those Oni know we are here . . . . jut call it a ninja's feeling."

"You can find them anywhere."

"No, I mean outside the city, away from the tourist attractions."

Bifuteki nodded, and left.

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	5. Chapter 5: Long Lost Memories

Sasuke and Naruto reclined in the Hot Spring. Naruto stretched before rubbing his feet. "What a long day . . . . I didn't get any sleep last night. Did you?"

Sasuke shook his head but didn't answer. After a long silence, Sasuke started to speak. "Naruto, in my dream, you were there . . . . . there was a spear, sharpened at the top, sticking out of the ground in the middle of an arena, I was fighting a horde of those shadow creatures, when suddenly, you fell from above, and landed on the spear . . . .and I couldn't stop it . . . " He stopped as he felt something strike his shoulder lightly, and then a hand fluttered down the bare skin of his chest. Startled at first he looked over to find that Naruto had fallen asleep and had sloped over onto his shoulder. Naruto was breathing softly and yet looked very peaceful. Sasuke started to reach over and push Naruto off, but then stopped. He suddenly realized how sleepy he was as well, he couldn't blame Naruto for that.

He put his hand back down as the sudden feeling of being watched crept over him.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Sasuke pushed Naruto over into the water and spun around. Naruto hit the water with a snorting gasp and came up spitting. "I must have fallen asleep . . . " He turned around, aware that Sasuke was still beside him. Flush with embarrassment, he turned to face Sasuke.

Sasuke and a man with short black hair, and a long ponytail stood beside him. Sasuke's hand was clenched by his side, looking as though he had gone fore his shiruken, to find that it wasn't there.

The man rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry to have startled you. I thought that this young man here was with a lady of the house . . . . so . . .ermm . . . . I'll take my leave then . . . . " The man turned to leave, but then he stopped as he got a better look at Naruto. The man turned to face Naruto as his eyes, a dark sea green, got a painful sheen to them, as though his mind were far away, buried in a distant and sad memory. "That is an interesting seal on your stomach . . . .. Naruto . . . correct?"

Naruto stood straight out of the water, moving slowly, but deliberately. he pointed at the dark haired man. "How do you know my name?"

"We met before you and I . . . a very long time ago." The man climbed into the water and sat between Sasuke and Naruto. "My name is Mizu Mashin." He turned to look at Sasuke. "And you must be Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke clenched his fists, but sat down. "And how do you know us?"

Mizu looked at the sky. "I knew your father, Sasuke, he was a good man, and I was saddened by his loss. The Fourth Hokage was looking forward to great things from your brother when he was born." He stopped when Sasuke flinched at the mention of his brother.

Naruto, however, had become interested at the mention of the Fourth Hokage. "You knew the Fourth?"

Mizu looked sad and nodded. "I helped him to create the Jitsu that trapped Kyu. I was there when you were born." Naruto became quiet. "Unfortunately, his greatest wish never came true. I was sorry to have taught him the Jitsu that killed him, he was truly a great man. But . . . . I owed him a life's debt, and the town was his responsibility, as he claimed. I hope that you don't blame the Fourth for your childhood . . . "

Naruto shook his head. "He was a great man, he saved the village from that bastard fox."

"Hmm . . . ." An odd look came over Mizu's face.

Mizu nodded and stood, the sad look that had clouded his eyes was now replaced by a look of interest and of curiosity. "Well, perhaps I will see you two at breakfast tomorrow. And then you can explain what you are doing here in Fumo Be-ru Village. Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to lend a hand." Mizu smiled and turned toward the exit. "Unfortunately, your stay here might not be as pleasant as it could be, but try to enjoy yourselves anyway. Who knows, you may learn something about each other."

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Naruto embraced Sasuke, feeling the warmth of their bodies entwined, his hands, holding the back of Sasuke's shirt as their lips sought a further depth together. Naruto couldn't exactly see but he could certainly feel. Sasuke's lips were just as he remembered, the taste, the texture, even the smell of Sasuke's breath hadn't changed.

And then a coppery taste entered his mouth, a warm liquid metal, flowing from Sasuke's mouth to his, across his lips, and then down the side of his face. Naruto recognized the taste of blood. His eyes opened. A scared Sasuke greeted him as his eyes flew wide, Sasuke was trying to move away, but couldn't, Naruto's Fox like fangs held Sasuke's lips to his. Naruto felt tears, and realized that they weren't his, Sasuke was crying, his eyes welling up with fear and sadness in his eyes. His Sharinggan came into his eyes, and then he cried tears of blood. Naruto released Sasuke, and Sasuke fell back, his face torn and bloody. Naruto couldn't control his body as moved in, in his hands was the Spear from his dreams.

--------------------------

Naruto awoke over Sasuke, kneeling with one knee on either side of Sasuke's body. His fist was raised in the air as if he meant to beat Sasuke's sleeping form. He shook his head and lowered his fist. Looking at Sasuke's face, his dream came back to him. He shook his head. "What the heck is wrong with me . . . yuck!" Suddenly, a drop of blood landed on Sasuke's face. Naruto looked at it in shock as Sasuke started to stir.

Naruto ran to the mirror. His nose was bleeding again. He mumbled to himself as he started cleaning himself up.

"What . . . . again?" Naruto looked to Sasuke, who was pondering the blood on his fingers. "Why is your blood on my face?"

Naruto could only shrug . . . how would he explain something even he didn't know the answer to.

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	6. Chapter 6: Clues

Naruto came into the restaurant area of the Green Flower in at the bequest of a note left by Sasuke. As he walked in he inhaled the aromas of the various foods and sighed. He looked around, when he found Sasuke he joined him at his table. Sasuke was busy studying a map of Kumo Be-ru Village. He didn't even look up when Naruto sat down. Naruto looked over the map for a few seconds before either of them spoke.

"Have you eaten yet?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I've been waiting for you down here . . . . go ahead if you want."

Naruto started to flag down one of the servers when Sasuke pounded his fist on the table. "Damn!" The cup of tea that was in front of Sasuke tipped over and rolled onto the floor. He attracted a few stares by his sudden action, but the noise quickly continued as people lost interest.

Naruto tapped Sasuke's arm. "Was that needed?"

Sasuke pushed the map in front of Naruto. "There isn't anything there, no caves, caverns . . . ruins . .. Nothing."

Naruto held the map up in front of his face. "Where did you get this, Sasuke?"

"Bifuteki left it here this morning, apparently he won't be in town for a day or so."

Naruto set the map back on the table. He started to shrug, but stopped as his shoulders evened with his face as Mizu entered the room.

Mizu was accompanied by one of the Green Flower Inn's hostesses. He was smiling and laughing with them until he noticed Naruto and Sasuke. His face suddenly became somber and he nodded to them before the mirthful smile returned and he turned back to the women on his arm. After a few brief words, the Geisha left and Mizu joined Naruto and Sasuke.

"Hello again." He took the seat next to Sasuke. "All right, I know what you guys are looking for."

Sasuke pointed to the map while eyeing Mizu suspiciously. "Ok, forgetting the fact that we have no idea how you came about that information, there isn't the slightest hint to where to find it."

Mizu shook his head. "If you know how to look, you can find anything. Like here. If I were to ask you the name of the man who founded Fumo Be-ru Village, what would you say?"

Sasuke studied the map for a second. "The says that his name was Tancho Souritsusha."

Mizu nodded. "That name means, 'A clue Organizer', Fumo Be-ru means 'Cloud Veil.' Now if you look at this map, there is a misprint down in the corner, or it least, it has the appearance of a misprint. "Kumo-Beru Village", which means "Spider-veil," which can be taken to mean a Spider's web. A spider's web is a complex thing, many strands interlocked together. It both hides, and is hidden. It is also in reference to a string of caves underneath the village. Now since that you cannot find the entrances to the caves, what is another thing that can hide be used to hide?"

Naruto scratched his head. "A disguise?"

Mizu gave half a laugh. "Partially right. A Veil hides, both as spider web, and as cloud cover. and also, as a veil of water, as in, a waterfall."

Sasuke started looking at the map intently. "I see. So, it is all a play on itself."

Mizu nodded. "If you know how and where to look."

Sasuke looked up from the map. "But this village is surrounded by waterfalls."

Mizu looked to the map and his face brightened, as if he suddenly remembered something. "I seem to recall an odd usage of words in the legend of the hiding of the blade. ' . . . . As the location of the blade only two heroes will know how to open the way.'"

Naruto beamed and made an exaggerated gesture of triumph, "Well, we are heroes!"

Sasuke kicked Naruto underneath the table. "Stop it Naruto, try not to attract attention."

Mizu chuckled to himself before continuing. "Anyway, the word that was used was 'joufu', which can also mean 'lover'"

Sasuke made a face and went back to looking at the map, after a few seconds, he tapped his finger on a spot and looked up. "Lover's Falls?"

Mizu nodded. "That makes sense to me. You guys should go check it out . . . . but as a warning . . . I think there is more to that legend thing, even just that part . . . if what I think about it is true . . . getting in will be a little painful for you."

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	7. Chapter 7: Painful Suppositions

After an hour and a half of walking along the scenic paths outside of town, Sasuke and Naruto arrived at Lover's falls. As they approached the falls, they emerged from the mist as if the clouds that shrouded the town itself refused to approach the falls. Oddly enough, for being the least oppressive place that Naruto and Sasuke had seen since arriving in Fumo Be-Ru Village, there were not any people around the falls. The falls weren't very high, only rising about the ground by about thirty feet, the falls emptied into a pool but didn't raise or lower. After inspecting the falls themselves, Sasuke walked back around the pool to join Naruto in testing the water.

Sasuke started to take off his shirt as he addressed the already swimming Naruto. "We are going to have to go to the other side of the fall. I'm guessing that there must be a cavern that all this water empties into."

Naruto bobbed in the water for a few seconds. "I'll race you, Sasuke!" He started swimming toward the fall as Sasuke stood there, dumb founded.

"NARUTO! . . . . you going to make me carry your clothes? Aren't you?" He sighed and began wrapping the clothes together in a small plastic sack. When he finished he waded into the water, the sack tied to his waist. As he approached the falls, he could hear Naruto's voice, echoing off of the interior of the cave. He wasn't surprised to find that there was a large room immediately opposite the falls.

Naruto was at the far wall, looking at something. "Sasuke, come take a look at this!"

Sasuke waded over to find that the water reached up to his neck. "What is it?"

Naruto was busy rubbing dirt off of the wall. As he moved away, Sasuke saw that there was writing on the wall. "What does it say?"

Naruto examined the wall for a minute. "It says . . . 'For one to enter the sacred of places, one must first learn to embrace his fellow man, and share the water of life between them.'"

Sasuke stood confused for a few moments before pulling his Shiruken from the belt on his leg. He reached up and scraped the blade against his hand, drawing a small rivulet of blood. He then offered the dagger to Naruto. "Here, do the same, i think I know what it means by Water of Life."

Naruto pulled the dagger across his hand, and then offered it back to Sasuke. Sasuke put the blade away and then held out his hand for Naruto to clasp. Their hands held together for a few seconds, and nothing happened. Sasuke thought to himself as he bandaged his hand.

Off to one side, Naruto was examining the end of the key. The memory of his dream was haunting him. He read the line again and again. The word embrace hit him, lifting him into his dream more fully. "Sasuke . . . "

Sasuke turned around to be tackled into the wall while Naruto gave him a long peck on the lips. When his back touched the wall behind him, Sasuke pushed Naruto away. "Naruto? What was- . . .. "

Sasuke was interrupted by a low rumbling sound as a slight opening appeared in the wall. Sasuke and Naruto examined it. "Wow . . . I can't believe it worked." Naruto was wiping his mouth and spitting as Sasuke thought to himself.

"Where did you get that idea?" Sasuke was staring at Naruto.

"Umm . .. it was in a dream, it just made sense with what this said." He shrugged and looked at the crack again.

Sasuke slowly turned to Naruto " . . . .looks like it wasn't enough . . . . " He put a hand to his head and his face turned red. "Looks like we'll need to do it more."

Naruto gaped at Sasuke and his face turned red. Neither one of them moved for a moment, both of them trying to avoid the other's gaze.

There was a long silence before Sasuke turned to stare at the crack in the wall again. "So, how do we do this?"

Naruto followed Sasuke's gaze. "I . . . . I don't . . . . really . . . umm . . . . "

They both looked at each other again. Another long moment of silence passed. Naruto made a face and the swallowed hard. "I . . . guess that we should . . . you know . . . "

Sasuke made as if to speak, but closed his mouth and nodded. They both moved toward each other, when they were close enough, they paused again, they both shifted their eyes away and leaned forward until their lips touched, they stayed that way for a moment, and then moved away quickly, turning so that neither of them were looking at the other. There was a low rumbling, and then a loud cracking noise as if stone slamming against stone. both of their gazes were drawn to the wall as they realized that it had slammed shut. They stared in awe as they wonder what had happened. and then Sasuke made another discovery.

"if the 'Sharing of the Water of life' is a kiss, then the embrace part is probably not related to that part . . . its probably . . . literal."

They looked at each other again, faces flush. Then, Sasuke reached out his hands and Naruto took them, their fingers entwining with each other's, and leaned forward, until they could feel each other's breath on their faces. There was a long pause before they entwined lips and wrapped their arms around each other. A long rumbling sounded and a cascade of water poured down around them, like a heavy rain storm, they stayed that way until the rumbling and water stopped, and then stepped away from each other slowly. Neither one looked at the other for a long while.

After a few moments, Naruto made his way to the opening in the wall and looked through. "Wow, Sasuke, it looks as if there is a stairway in here."

Sasuke passed Naruto and looked down the stairs. "Come on, lets go."

Naruto reached out for Sasuke to wait. "Hey . . . umm . . .. Sasuke?"

Sasuke stopped but didn't look back. "Yeah? What is it?"

"Umm . . . could we, um . . . . not tell Sakura about this?"

Sasuke still didn't look back, and there was a long silence. "I don't plan on telling anyone about this. Not even the Ninja's Council." He


	8. Chapter 8: First Appearance

----------------------------

Naruto scrambled up on the rocky surface that Sasuke was standing on. Sasuke was staring off into a vast cavern that stretched into the distance, only the dim flicker of braziers were a sign of the far wall. The only link to the other side was a long and wide stone bridge a short walk to the right. Sasuke gave Naruto a hand to the top.

Sasuke gave a sideways glance at the bridge. "Looks like we have a bit of walking to do."

"Any sign of Oni?" Naruto gave a glance around when he was standing next to Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head. "Nothing so far. Lets hope it stays that way." He started to scale down the other side.

Naruto jumped to the floor and tumbled. When he regained his footing Sasuke was standing next to him. "We'll have to use the bridge to get to the other side, I guess."

----------------------------

Fifteen minutes passed before they were even a fourth of the way over the bridge. They walked in complete silence, the only sounds heard was the cascading of water on either side of them and a low rumbling. The silence itself was more a strain on the both of them than the uneventful walk itself. "Man, this is really depressing . . ." Naruto peered over the side of the bridge, it was too deep and too dark to see the river below. "Why would anyone want to even know what's down here."

"I don't know . . . I'm a little confused about that myself. I mean, what were those sacrifices for anyway? And for that matter, why would the townspeople want to recover an artifact that simply tells about a places bloody history?"

"Yeah, I mean . . .you've spent your whole life trying to forget yours, huh?"

Sasuke lunged at Naruto and lifted him by his shirt collar. "What would you know about it? You've got a real way with words Naruto! How would you like to lose everyone you hold dear, and then learn that the person you look up to most is the one who killed them?" Sasuke reeled back as if to strike Naruto but stopped as Naruto glared at him.

"You forgot, didn't you Sasuke? I grew up being abandoned by everyone my whole life. At least you have people who care about you, all the villagers . . . Sakura . . . The only person who ever even cared about me was the Hokage! And now he's DEAD!"

A sad look came into Sasuke's eyes, and he set Naruto down. "I'm sorry . . . I didn't mean . . ." A sudden burst of pain racked Sasuke and the Demon mark on his body flashed and dissipated. "Someone's here!"

A haunting laugh filled the void around them. From everywhere a voice spoke to them, the echo confusing all direction. "How sweet . . . a bonding moment."

Sasuke spun about, scanning the darkness with his Sharingun. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

The haunting laughter fluttered about again. "Now why would I go and do that? You see, isn't it the nature of a Ninja to remain in shadows and strike when you can't see me?" A rush of air passed between Naruto and Sasuke, and a glint of steel. The voice continued, closer this time. "Ninjas of Konoha, aren't these the principles you are taught?"

Sasuke and Naruto backed close together, and Sasuke whispered to Naruto, "I think this is one of the Oni we were warned about . . . but I have a idea."

The laugher interrupted him. " Oh . . . how novel . . . you have an idea . . . I guess that makes you the thinker . . . well . . .leader," The voice got a gradually menacing tone. "How would you like your teammate to die when I finish with you!"

Again the rush of air, and this time the glint of steel was faster, swinging in to Sasuke, who was flung to the bridge railing. Sasuke gasped for breath as he tried to hold both his back and the bleeding gash on his stomach. "Sasuke!" Naruto ran over to Sasuke and examined the gash. "Sorry, I don't know what to do, Sakura was the one good at healing Jitsu."

Sasuke, having recovered his breath, stood. "Its ok, Was able to move . . .its not that bad." Sasuke didn't tell Naruto that the blade had moved at the limitations of his Sharingun, he was only barely able to move in time, he didn't think he'd survive another pass.

"Ah . . .your reflexes are very fast. . . this could be fun after all." Naruto watched as the glint of steel shimmied back and forth on the bridge slowly getting closer, and then the rush of air between them. Naruto turned just in time to see silhouette in the air with a knife coming at him.

"Senpuu!" A flash of air and the man was gone. That wasn't the same voice, Naruto realized. This one had been deeper, with more authority in its tone. Senpuu must have been the attackers name.

Naruto waited a few moments before breathing a sigh of relief. "That was a close one, huh, Sasuke?" No reply. Naruto looked over to find Sasuke hunched by the railing, breathing heavily and clutching his hand to his blood-covered shirt.

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	9. Chapter 9: A Short Breather

"Damn it!." Was all Naruto could say to himself as he set about building a fire inside the damp cavern. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" He had since bandaged Sasuke's wounds, and was carefully monitoring the sound of his breathing, which was still coming in hoarse rasps. "What the hell was that thing anyway?"

Sasuke groaned in his sleep, catching Naruto's attention. "Looks like he is running a fever . . . " He said as he held a hand on Sasuke's forehead. "Damn, usually its Sakura-chan looking after him in situations like this, I'm not sure what to do." He rocked back on his haunches and crossed his legs. "Think, Uzumaki, what to do, what to do . . . "

The void was entirely black. As lightless as a killer's heart. But the laughing, the laughing is what drove Sasuke insane the quickest. Itachi. "Why? Why do you laugh at me? I'll kill you!" He wanted to turn and run after the voice, but he couldn't move, couldn't do anything except float there in the darkness. And then the voice was right next to him.

"Stupid, worthless brother," It said, the words dripping with hate and disdain, and at the same time, empty, just like the words spoken that night. "You can't do anything, you can't even survive a mission by yourself. You are going to die here. Die a worthless incompetent who can't even outmatch a loser like your blonde friend." The laugh trailed off . . . cold, heartless . . .

. . . Alone . . .

Sasuke sat up, wheezed and coughed up blood. He clasped his chest in pain at the sudden motion and clenched his teeth as he waited for his eyes to adjust and come into focus. A fire was going next to him, but he appeared to be by himself in the camp. He was covered by his sleeping bag, his wounds bandaged. The light tic-tic-ing of water dripping off of the cavern ceiling helped to clear his head of the throbbing pain in his chest and eventually he lay down again.

He heard footsteps approaching and reached for a kunai, only to notice that his ninja tools were across the camp. "Hey, Sasuke, you awake?" The voice was Naruto's.

He clenched his teeth in anger for just a moment, and then breathed a sigh of exhasperation. "Yeah . . . . how long was I out?" Naruto sat down and set a couple of fish beside him.

"Not sure, maybe two hours?" Naruto began putting the fish on stakes to cook. "Long enough for me to catch some fish, and I'm starving!" Naruto finished setting up the fire and then turned back to Sasuke. "So, did your eyes see anything?"

Sasuke turned his head to regard Naruto directly. "Just barely. He moved at the limits of the Sharingan. He was human, but his chakra was almost something more. It was all I could do to move in time." He looked up at Naruto, who was unharmed. "What happened?"

Naruto crossed his arms and a look of concentration came over his face. "Don't know, somebody said something like 'Shampoo' and then it stopped faster than it started."

"'Shampoo?'" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow and shook his head. "Idiot." He sat up and put his arms back to steady his suddenly spinning head. "Naruto . . . I think that we may in fact be dealing with Oni. You'll have to be really careful about this one. "

"Sasuke . . . " A surprised look crossed Naruto's face. "Don't go worrying about me." He smiled and flexed his arm. "I'll be fine, you just hurry up and feel better!"


	10. Chapter 10: Surprising Discovery

[Author's Note: Wow, can't believe its been five years. A lot has happened and I really apologize to those of you who patiently waited all this time, and to those who waited impatiently, too! I posted the last update just to see if there was anyone out there still interested, and with the sheer number of hits made me think that I should continue. So whether you are a new reader or an old one, thank you so much! I am inspired to continue this, for me, old story, and possibly even post some other stories that I had intended to ages ago.]

[]

The hours made their way slowly by, and Naruto had continued on down the cavern at Sasuke's request. The walls of the cavern were slick with years of calcification. Naruto pulled his hand back from the wall and shook it off. "Eew, this place is disgusting." The air felt thick and heavy. The hall seemed to lighten the farther he got down the hall until he found the reason. The ceiling was thick in a glowing blue fungus that insured that he had a good view of where he was walking. Mist slowly started to creep up until it covered his ankles, and wafting to just above his knees. "M-man, this place is creepy."

A doorway up ahead cast an odd shadow down the hallway and Naruto snuck up next to it. The mist seemed to be flowing out of the room like the mist off of a waterfall. It was so thick that Naruto could barely see through the door. The light danced like the reflection off of a pool, floating and dancing across the walls. Naruto squinted into light trying to make out the room just inside the door.

From what he could make out, it appeared to be a large Arena, with his door leading in from the bottom. In front of him was a large open floor, with tall walls leading up to bleachers above. Across from him was a large grated door, almost three times taller than he was. "Big door . . .," He mumbled to himself as he continued to scan the room. Other than the grey floor and the grey wall, there didn't appear to be much to mark this room as being important. He was about to turn back down the hall to check back on Sasuke when something glinting in the center of the arena caught his eye.

He strained to see what had caught his eye as it glinted again, this time seeming to take shape among the mist. And as he recognized it, the mist began to part. There, sitting in the middle of the room was the spear from his dreams. The same maze-like pattern adorned its hilt, the same gems set in the same places. It was sticking, point straight toward the ceiling in the middle of the arena, as if daring Naruto to deny its existence. Naruto stared at it as his ears started to ring.

[]

Sasuke was leaning against a broken crate that Naruto had found shoved off to one side of the Bridge. He was breathing easier now, but the pain still prevented him from moving around to much. "Damn," he repeated to himself for perhaps the hundredth time. He had taken to routing a line in the rock face underneath him with his Kunai knife, more out of frustration than boredom. He narrowed his eyes at the rut he had carved and fumed. "Once again, I'm stuck here and Naruto is off playing a hero. Damn it!" A sharp pain in the seal on his neck made him flinch, and the sudden motion made him double over from the pain in his chest. He gasped in agony for a few moments before collapsing back with ragged breaths.

A noise behind him made him look to the edge of the box beside him. _Damn it, hurts to much to move, _he thought to himself, twisting his grip on the kunai knife to make it easier to throw, _I can't die yet, I still have to kill him . . . _

_[]_

Naruto stepped into the arena, his eyes transfixed on the spear. "No . . . no way!" He moved closer, horror, surprise and awe welling up inside him. "But, I dreamed this . . . am I still asleep?" He pinched his own cheek. "Ouch!"

Laughter floated over the Balcony into the arena. "Careful now, its no fun to watch a show if the actors are already damaged." The voice was the same as the one from earlier. "Besides, don't you know? Oni like to devour their prey whole!" A loud metallic squeal filled the air as the grate behind the spear was lifted with a series of ropes and pulleys. A loud clang and cracking noise accompanied the grate reaching its apex, and rocks fell from the stalactites above.

"Who are you?" Naruto shouted to the bleachers. "Are you an Oni?"

"Maybe I am, " came the reply, followed by a chuckle. "But for certain, the ones in front of you are." Naruto turned around to find may quick shapes darting out of the opening almost faster than he could follow. They spread out around the arena, obscured by the mist. He couldn't see them clearly, but he could see them.

"Heh, finally a real fight," Naruto said to himself, making a sign with his hands. "Shadow Clone No Jutsu!"

[]

Mizu handed the Kunai knife back to Sasuke. "Here, you might want to hang onto that, you could have killed someone who came to help." He laughed as Sasuke took the kunai back, a scowl across his face. "Sorry, didn't mean to offend. What happened?"

Sasuke looked away and made a "tsk" noise. "One of them got me on the bridge. He moved fast, I couldn't track all his movements." He moved his arm to show the bandage under the tear in his shirt. "So, he got me."

Mizu nodded. "I see, here, lay back, I know a thing or two about medical Jutsu, I think I can fix this." He started concentrating and a glow began to emit from his hand. "I see then that you met the one they call Senpuu." He grimaced and went on to explain. "Senpuu carries a Wind Oni inside him, he isn't just fast, he can manipulate the wind and even shift with it. That's his Jutsu."

Sasuke thought for a moment. "That make sense then, there was always a gust before the Kunai came." He thought about the fight again. "But, it wasn't Genjitsu, nor was it Ninjitsu. Could it be Taijitsu?"

Mizu shook his head. "No, its none of them. Its actually a separate Chakra, that of the spirit in them.." The glow in his hands dissipated. "There , that should do it." He helped Sasuke sit up. "How does it feel?"

Sasuke moved his body around and nodded. "Good, but we should go, Naruto is up ahead."


	11. Chapter 11: Battle Begins

The mist in the room seemed to rise higher along the edges where the creatures lurked, while settling around Naruto's feet. The only sounds that filled the room were a soft howling of air passage and the occasional subtle shift in Shadow Clone feet. Approximately fifteen shadow clones now huddled around the middle of the arena. A bead of sweet dribbled down his cheek as he looked around again. The number of the strange creatures had grown as he had cast his Jutsu. He smirked to himself as he reached down and pulled a shuriken star from his pouch. All of his clones did the same. "Alright, let's go!"

The clones each jumped at a different target, each tossing a star at a different target and then attacking another. But their attacks found no purchase, and the clones found themselves passing through the shadows, and a few even bounced off the wall behind them. The clones looked around as the real Naruto stood in the middle of the room, Kunai knife at the ready with a look of concern on his face. "Where'd they go?" His eyes slowly passed around the room, as the clones scanned their own areas, trying to find out where the creatures had disappeared to.

The sound of his own voice crying out behind him caused him to look just in time to see one of his shadow clones disappearing in a puff of smoke. One of his clones responded with what he was thinking. "What? Where'd it go?" The another clone cried out and a loud popping noise accompanying it. Three more followed in quick succession. "Damn . . . I can't see them in the mist, huh?" Naruto began to sign another Jutsu, but it was broken as his leg was pulled out from under him. He hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs. His eyes blurred for a moment, and as they started to clear he realized that he was being dragged backwards into the mist. He swung out with one of his hands to find purchase, and eventually his hand found something to wrap around.

[]

Sasuke and Mizu ran side by side down the long corridor, the only sound their footsteps echoing off the barren walls. "There should be an open room up ahead," Mizu informed, his eyes never leaving the hallway ahead of him. "It was an open arena, used for determining who had the right to be the sacrifice. Only the winner had the right to be a sacrifice for the ritual."

Sasuke screwed up his face in bewilderment. "You mean, people wanted to be the sacrifice?"

Mizu nodded. "Yes, to be the sacrifice in ancient days was an honor, not only to the village and the warrior himself, but it also brought honor to one's clan. It was a testament of prowess in battle. Since the ritual was held only once every 30 years, only veterans were allowed. The Ritual needed high amounts of chakra to work, so sacrificing the weak would be of no avail."

"So, what was this Ritual all about anyway?"

Mizu frowned as he explained, "The Ritual was one of sealing. Almost all sealing Jutsu requires a sacrifice of some sort, something to grant the seal power. The more powerful ones even require life. This is one of those." He shook his head as if chasing away memories. "But, its been hundreds of years since the last time a sealing Jutsu was performed here, and if a high powered seal had to be renewed every thirty years, there is a good possibility that whatever was sealed here may have long since been released."

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Naruto winced as the tugging continued, stretching his arm almost to the point of dislocation. He looked at what was grabbing him. It was a clawed hand that looked as though it were composed of shadow, and behind it, yellow eyes stared at him from a cruel looking mask. Lines of blue glowing light traced the mask in a very simple pattern. He swung his other foot at it only to watch his foot pass through the mask dispersing it like the mist around it. His momentum flipped him over, however, and he felt his handhold shift. He looked back up at it.

The shaft of the spear glinted back at him from in his hand, in his struggle against the pulling arm he had caught the spear to prevent himself from being dragged off into the mist. He pulled harder at it, trying to escape the hand hold that the creature had on him. The sound of struggling came at him from around the room as his shadow clones were losing the battle around him. "Damn . . . "

The laugh again resounded from the upper levels of the arena. "Come now, that's not all you have is it?" A gust of wind cleared the mist in Naruto's field of view. In every corner of the arena, more of the creatures like the one holding on to his legs waited. Sweat began to bead on his face as the realization that he didn't know what to do dawned on him.

"I'll win, just you watch!" He yelled. His hand almost slipped off the spear as a kunai knife sunk into the dirt near his foot, and exploded, sending him flying into the nearest wall. "Ow . . . " He looked up to see that the person who threw it was Sasuke, standing next to the door that he had used to enter earlier. "Sasuke!"

"Naruto," Sasuke said, smirking, "What are you doing laying down here? I thought you were going to take care of things!" The laugh drifted down again, pulling Sasuke's attention up to the balcony area. "Is it him?"

Naruto climbed to his feet and nodded. "The same guy as before, be careful, he has some strange shadows doing his work for him." Sasuke nodded and began signing a jutsu.

"Sharingan!" Sasuke's eyes took on the Sharingan, and he scanned the room, taking stock of the creatures that now littered the room. "They aren't Genjitsu, they are real." He looked at a group of them and signed a Jutsu. "Fireball no Jutsu!" he cried, sending a flaming ball of fire into the group. They screeched and two of them evaporated entirely. _I see, it isn't the fire, it's the light that they can't stand._ He looked at Naruto. "Naruto, throw me one of your flares!"

Naruto dug through his pouch and pulled out a flare. "Here!" He threw it at Sasuke who caught it. Sasuke whipped out a paper bomb and wrapped it around the flare.

"Naruto! Cover your eyes!" He threw the flare into the air, flipping it end over end until it hit the roof of the room and lit. He had just enough time to turn his head before it lit the bomb and exploded. The resulting blast cast a bright glare around the entire room, filling it with the screeching sound of the shadow creatures. Sasuke smiled to himself as the last of the dissolved and the light faded away, pitching the room into darkness again.

"Ahh . . . spots everywhere . . . " Naruto stumbled dizzily over to Sasuke as Mizu entered the room. Naruto pointed at him, still swaying. "Hey . . . why's he here?"

Sasuke scanned the room as he replied. "He's here . . . " His eyes widened as he came across the Spear still stuck in the middle of the room. "That's . . . !"

A light thump in next to the spear sounded the entry of another person in the arena. "My . . . that was impressive." He laughed a moment. The man was only a little taller than either Sasuke or Naruto. He wore a sleeveless shirt, almost the same color as the room around them, a head band with no insignia, and shorts ending with a mesh cropping. His hair was a long almost sage green. "I suppose that makes you my opponent then, doesn't it . . . "


End file.
